They may be right — generally speaking. But, somewhat unexpectedly, the summer of 2018 looks to be a celebration of great actresses, great acting, and straight-up star power.

Yes, there are the usual sequels, remakes, and reboots, and many of them feature male characters or male stars with major box office clout. Han Solo of “Star Wars” is back in an origin story called “Solo,” with Alden Ehrenreich playing the young Han. (That said, people seem more excited about seeing Donald Glover as young Lando Calrissian.) Tom Cruise will play Ethan Hunt in the 532nd “Mission: Impossible” movie. There will a second “Deadpool” (Ryan Reynolds), another “Equalizer” (Denzel Washington), a new “Superfly” (Trevor Jackson of TV’s “Grown-ish”), and a fifth in the “Jurassic Park” series (“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”). Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars in something called “Skyscraper.” It wouldn’t be summer at the box office without an overdose of testosterone.

This year, though, there’s an incoming tide of counteractive estrogen. Consider “Ocean’s 8,” a spinoff of a sequel of a remake that nevertheless trades in the guys of the earlier heist films for Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, and more. Or “Book Club,” a comedy in which Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen set their literary group on its ear by reading “Fifty Shades of Grey”?

In the upcoming “Tully,” Charlize Theron gives herself yet another makeover to play an exhausted new mother on the brink of collapse. Melissa McCarthy goes back to college in “Life of the Party.” Elle Fanning plays an alien crashing a party in “How to Talk to Girls at Parties,” based on a Neil Gaiman short story and directed by John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”). That one also features Nicole Kidman as the rebel Celtic ruler Queen Boadicea.

We’re getting double the Saoirse Ronan, first in “On Chesil Beach,” based on an Ian McEwan novella, and then in an adaptation of Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” costarring Annette Bening, that just conquered the Tribeca Film Festival.

There are movie queens returning to the screen: Jodie Foster as the mysterious proprietor of the “Hotel Artemis,” set in post-apocalypse Los Angeles; Glenn Close gunning for an Oscar in an adaptation of the Meg Wolitzer novel “The Wife,” and Our Royal Majesty herself — Meryl Streep — letting her hair down and raising her voice in “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.” (It’s her very first sequel, for those keeping score.)

Nor can you discount the new faces arriving this summer: Elsie Fisher in the coming-of-age indie “Eighth Grade,” Thomasin McKenzie in “Leave No Trace,” and the entire freshly found cast of teenage skater girlz in “Skate Kitchen,” from “The Wolfpack” director Crystal Moselle.

Even the summer’s documentaries are dedicated to women who have stirred things up, past and present: Ruth Bader Ginsburg in “RBG,” Whitney Houston in “Whitney,” and the late proto-punk chanteuse Christa Paffgen in “Nico, 1988.” By contrast, male subjects getting the doc treatment in the coming months include the pope (“Pope Francis: A Man of His Word,” from Wim Wenders) and Mr. Rogers (“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”). Icons of kindness and decency, both of them — but this summer it’s the women who have all the fun.

May 4

Bleecker Street Media

Disobedience

Drama, RomanceR1h 54m

Sebastián Lelio, who won this year’s best foreign language film Oscar, for “A Fantastic Woman,” directed this drama about an unusual love triangle. Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, and Alessandro Nivola star.

Director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody, who collaborated on “Juno,” reunite for this comedy-drama about the friendship that forms between a mother of three (Charlize Theron) and her children’s nanny (Mackenzie Davis).

Also opening on May 18:Beast, Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Bye Bye Germany, In the Intense Now (opens May 16)

May 25

A24

First Reformed

Drama, ThrillerR1h 48m

Politics and religion, violence and guilt collide in upstate New York. Ethan Hawke, as a rural pastor, is at their center. Yes, it’s a Paul Schrader movie. He wrote and directed. Amanda Seyfried costars.

An all-female version joins the caper franchise, with the site of the heist switched from a Vegas casino to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, and Rihanna star.

June 15

Gunpowder & Sky

Hearts Beat Loud

Drama, MusicPG-131h 37m

Brett Haley (“See You in My Dreams”) directed and co-wrote this drama about a father (Nick Offerman) and daughter (Kiersey Clemons) who become a songwriting team. Also on hand are Ted Danson, Blythe Danner, and Toni Collette.

After a 14-year hiatus, the first family of superhero society is back. Brad Bird again writes, directs, and (yes!) voices Edna Mode. Also returning are Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, and Samuel L. Jackson.

June 22

Sony Pictures Classics

Boundaries

Comedy, DramaR1h 44m

Christopher Plummer plays a marijuana dealer (!) who gets thrown out of his Oregon nursing home. His daughter (Vera Farmiga) has to drive him down to Los Angeles, where he’s going to live with her sister.

Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska play an engaged couple. The problem is she’s out West, he’s back East, and it’s the 19th century. What ensues is a very 21st-century updating of the western. David and Nathan Zellner (“Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter”) directed.

June 29

Columbia Pictures

Sicario: Day of the Soldado

Action, Crime, Drama, ThrillerR

The drug war along the US-Mexican border heats up even more. Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro return from “Sicario” (2015), as does screenwriter Taylor Sheridan. Stefano Sollima replaces Denis Villeneuve as director.

It’s been eight years since Debra Granik directed “Winter’s Bone.” She returns with this story about a father (Ben Foster) and daughter (Thomasine McKenzie) whose happy existence living off the grid in Oregon runs afoul of the authorities.

Boots Riley, in his writing-directing debut, got a lot of attention at Sundance with this look at a comically alternative Oakland, Calif., in which an African-American telemarketer (Lakeith Stanfield) finds that adopting a white voice is the key to success.

July 20

20th Century Fox

Alita: Battle Angel

Action, Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Based on a Japanese manga, it’s the story of a lethal cyborg (Rosa Salazar). Expect a wild ride, with a supporting case that includes Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, and Jackie Earle Haley. Robert Rodriguez directed.

July 27

Summit Entertainment

Blindspotting

Comedy, Drama1h 35m

Two friends, Collin (Daveed Diggs) and Miles (Rafael Casal), work as movers in Oakland, Calif. In three days, Miles’s probation ends. Complications ensue. Diggs and Casal wrote the script, Carlos López Estrada directed. Much attention was paid at Sundance.

Also opening on July 27:Generation Wealth, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

August 3

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Christopher Robin

Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Musical

The title character, whom we know from A.A. Milne’s “Pooh” stories, has grown up and is in a bad way. His animal friends from the books enter the real world to help him out. With Ewan McGregor as Christopher Robin, and Hayley Atwell as his wife.

Can a veteran US operative (Mark Wahlberg) extract a human asset (John Malkovich) from a dangerous foreign country? Before answering, keep in mind that this is the first movie in a planned trilogy. Peter Berg (“Deepwater Horizon,” “Patriots Day”) directed.

Lionsgate

The Spy Who Dumped Me

Action, Comedy

Audrey gets the heave-ho. What makes this breakup special is that the boyfriend is an espionage operative, Mila Kunis plays Audrey, and Kate McKinnon plays her best friend. Round up the unusual suspects. Directed by Susanna Fogel (“Chasing Life”).

August 17

Warner Bros.

Crazy Rich Asians

ComedyPG-13

Think of it as “Their Big Fat Chinese Wedding.” Three fabulously wealthy families collide in Singapore at a fabulously over-the-top wedding. Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, and Ken Jeong head the cast. Based on Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel.

A very big fan (Chris O’Dowd) of a cult rock star (Ethan Hawke) gets to meet him, with serious consequences for them and the fan’s wife (Rose Byrne). Adapted from Nick Hornby’s novel.

Magnolia Pictures

Skate Kitchen

Drama1h 40m

Crystal Moselle (“The Wolfpack”) makes her fiction film debut, directing this story of New York skater girls.

Also opening on August 17:Alpha

August 24

Bleecker Street Media

Papillon

Biography, Crime, DramaR2h 13m

Charlie Hunnam stars as Henri “Papillon” Charrière, a French criminal trying to escape from Devil’s Island. Based on Charrière’s memoir, it’s a remake of the 1973 film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.

Also opening on August 24:Slender Man

August 31

Lionsgate

Kin

Action, Adventure, Crime, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, ThrillerPG-13

Crime meets sci-fi, as gangster James Franco chases ex-con Jack Reynor, who’s in possession of a piece of high-tech weaponry. Lending support are Dennis Quaid, Carrie Coon, and Zoë Kravitz.

A comedy about a day in the life of a Hooters-style sports bar. Regina Hall plays the manager. Also on board are James LeGros, Brooklyn Decker, and Lea DeLaria. Mumblecore master Andrew Bujalski directed.